Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1887-08-17
INFECTIOUS DRUNKENNESS.
Reformed Men Who Have Shown
Signs Of IntoKicatioa from Con-
tagion.

There are cases of reformed men who
show signs of intoxication from the
contagion of others who are drunkards.
The following is an example: A proIni-
nent ex-military man who had drunk
moderately once, while attending a din
ner with his old comrades, where most
of them were intoxicated. suddenly be.
came hilarious, made foolish speech,
settled back 10 his chair in a drunken
state, and was finally taken home quite
stupid. He had not drunk any spirits
and had only used coffee and water,
and yet he had all the symptoms OF the
Others, only his was intoxicatlon from
contagion; the favoring soil had been
prepared long ago in the army,
Another case was that of man who
had been an lnebriate years ago, but
had reformed. He was recently elected
to Office, and gave a dinner to some
friends. Among them was a physician
who had been greatly interested IN
these studies. He sent me a long re-
port, the substance of which was this:
On the occasion referred to many of
the company became partially intoxica-
ted, and the host. who drank nothing
but water, became hilarious. and finally
stupid, with them. He was put to bed
with every sign of intoIication, but re-
covered, and next morning had only a
confused notion of these events.
The third case occurred four years
ago. A reformed man of twelve years.
sobrlety, went on military excursion
with drinking company, and, al
though he drank nothing but lemonade,
became as much intoxicated as the
others. This event was the subject OF
much commet and loss to him, socially
and otherwise, although he protested,
and other confirmed his statements,
that he did not take any spirits at this
time. In these cases two conditions
were present-one in which some
special unknown nerve state was IN
herited, which readily reflected aIcO-
holic states from contagion; the other,
in which this particular alcoholic state
had been acquired, and more readily
responded to contagious surroundings
than otherwise.
Thus actors who essay to represent
insanity or inebrIety are successful in
proportion as they inherit a nervous
organization predisposIng them to these
affections. a single glass of spirits
may awaken a latent nerve defect and
soon after merge into inebriety. So
the effort to initiate the manner and
conduct of All intoxicated person may
give impress and direction to an or
ganlsm that will be permanent. An
| actor greatly praised for his skill as
Hamlet was obliged to leave the stage
for the reason that this character was
becoming SO intimately his as to sug-
gest Insanity at an early day. y man
-fsN Of faI ha Nn-Ag g,T l.
was after time so completely intoxi-
| Gated as to be unfit -fer-his part He
could not use spirits and had to give
up his part IN the play for the same
reason as mentioned above.
y remarkable incident of this kind
came to my notice. y temperance
writer of great power and yiv,dness of
detail said that he lived all the details
OF the hero he was describing in his
own mind. When the character WAS
intoxicated he had all the symptoms
and had to go to bed after writing that
the hero did so. lie suffered, was ex-
hausted, had pam, mental agony, was
joyous. happy, contentei, and lived
over every event which he described.
TINS man was strictly temperate, but
had drunken father, from whom lie
inherited peculiar nervous organiZa-
tion that gave him power to realize the
toxic state from alcohol and throw
himself into 1t most perfectly. He says
that it would impair his health to write
more on this theme, for he would lie
intoxicated most of the time while
writing.
Many of these states may be termed
emotional trance states, and in some
future time Will be the subject of some
curious and wonderful psychological
discoveries. For instance, reformed
mtn, or those who have recently
stopped the use of spirits, cannot safely
listen TO recital OF the sufTerlngs and
struggles of others TO become temperate
without taking on some form of men
tai shock that is fatal TO their own re
solutions. The more vIvldly and ac-
curately the struggles of a drunkard
are described the more certainly the
Will OF the hearer is weakened and rem
dered impotent to helf itself. Tenn
perance lecturers who hope by painting
the horrors of drink so vividly to deter
any one in the audience srom falling in
that way are deceived, and produce
the very effect they seek to remedy.